ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears from a variety of baseball officials who believe the Yankees should try to challenge and avoid the clauses in Alex Rodriguez's contract that reward him for hitting historic home runs. The contract calls for five $6MM bonuses to reward Rodriguez for "historic milestone accomplishments." A-Rod, who has 553 home runs, gets $6MM for matching Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) and another $6MM for passing Bonds.
Stark reports the Yankees haven't begun questioning the clauses yet, but many officials on other teams argue the Yankees shouldn't have to reward A-Rod because his legacy has been tainted. They say the home runs are no longer as historic. In the words of one official: "I'd be doing everything I could not to pay that money, and let him sue me for it."
